Binder for water ski or the like



June 7, 1960 c. v. cRAvoTTA BINDER FOR WATER sx1 0R TPE LIKE Filed Feb. 25, 195'? 1' INVENTOR COSIMO V. CRAVOTTA United States Patent O BINDER FOR WATER SKI OR T HE LIKE Cosimo V. Cravotta, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Crayotta Brothers, Inc., East McKeesport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Feb. 2s, 1957, ser. No. 642,101

6 claims. (ci. 9-310) This invention relates to a new foot binder for a water ski or the like. More particularly, this invention pertains to a new binder construction which is adapted to be rigidly fastened to a water ski or the like and which Iis readily adjustable on such a ski or the like in accordance with the foot size or relative binding quality preferred by a user thereof at the time being.

In a sport like water skiing, the binder used on such a water ski must be of a kind from which the skiers foot can readily be removed. Further, such a binder should be adjustable with respect to the distance between heel grip and toe piece not only to accommodate different foot sizes in the event that more than one person uses a particular ski, but also because a particular user may wish to adjust to a different relative tightness in the foot binding.

In new binder constructions of this invention, the parts thereof may readily be made by mass production methods at relatively low cost. Further, my new binder provides a fully supported binder over its entire length which at the same time is readily adjustable so that the desired distance between the heel gn'p and toe piece may rapidly and conveniently be obtained. In new binders constructed in accordance with this invention, moreover, any desired adjustment thereof is obtainable quickly and conveniently and can easily be performed. Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, which are illustrative of one embodiment only, in which Figure l is a view `in side elevation of one embodiment of a new binder of this invention mounted on a Water ski;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the new construction shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a view in section taken along line III-III of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a View in section taken along line lV--IV of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a partial View in elevation, partly lin section, taken along line V--V of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, a new binder made in accordance with this invention is shown therein as one embodiment firmly aiXed to a water ski 11 so that as the users foot is positioned in binder 10, the user will be facing the front of the ski with the binder 10 at the appropriate location for the proper functioning of that ski; In binder 10, a pair of guides 12 and 13 are provided. Such guides are of opposite hand, that is, they are mirror images of one another and otherwise of like symmetry, since in a binder for water skis or the like it is' not necessary to concern oneself with whether the right foot or .the left foot of la skier is to be inserted in a particular binder such as binder 10 that is illustrated. The guides 12 and 13 have their respective inner edges 14 and 15 parallel to one another and to the longitudinal axis of .ski 11 as a general rule. lThe inner edges 14 and 15 of the respective guides have their respective faces 16 and r"ice 17 upwardly and inwardly inclined -to tact as ways for the guidance of a slidable foot plate 18. The guides 12 and 13 extend substantially for the entire length of 'the foot of whomsoever the user may be. Strengthening ribs 19 along the outer edge of the respective guides 'i12 and 13 may `be provided Where such guides 12 and 13 and foot plate 18 are made, for example, of a molded plastic having a rigid yet flexible character. On the other hand, binders made in accordance with this invention may be made of other materials like aluminuminsofar las the guide and foot plate members thereof are concerned. l

A plurality of holes 20 are cast or drilled vertically through the guides y12 and 13 along the length thereof for the passage therethrough of screws 21 and 22 whereby the guides 12 and 13 are rigidly affixed at the proper location and orientation to ski 11 which may be made of wood or of laminar construction. Before the guides 12 and 13 are affixed to ski 11, a toe piece 23 is attached to the front portion of those guides. Toe piece 23 corresponds in function to the vamp of a shoe 'and is preferably molded of a resilient material like rubber with a beaded edge 24 around the periphery thereof for strength. The sides of the toe piece 23 are clamped between toe clamp strips 25 and the guides respectively. Such strips 25 may be made out of the same material as that used for the manufacture of the guides 12 and 13 and the foot plate 18. Clamp strips 25 are provided with vertical openings 26 in registry with like openings therebeneath in the guides 12 and 13 so that rivets 27 may be employed to fasten the clamp strips 25 to the respective guides thereby clamping the sides of toe piece 23 therebetween. The expanded bottoms of the rivets 27 are in recesses so they do not project below the guides 12 and 13 respectively. In addition, the clamp strips 25 are provided also with openings for the passage of the screws 22 so that such screws 22 also assist in the axation of toe piece 23 to binder `1() and in turn to ski 11. With rivets 27 in place, the guides 12 'and 1 3 can then be attached to ski 11 as described above, the width of toe piece 23 being such that when the guides'are so axed to ski 11, the toe piece will arch across the space between the front portion of guides 12 and 13 as shown in Figure 3. ln the illustrated embodiment the front 28 of toe pieceV 23 is opened for ready drying and clearing out of water or lany material that may get into the space beneath the toe piece 23. A further set of vertical openings is provided on each side of toe piece 23 adjacent the rear edge thereof and extending through the respective clamping strips 25, the lower edge of the toe piece 23, the guides -12 and 13 and the ski 11, the lower end of such registering openings each terminating in a recess 49 into which the head of a carriage bolt 50'ts so as not to project, the upper ends of the carriage bolts 50 being threaded :and engaged by cap screws 51 respectively so that such bolts act as strength fasteners at the rear toe piece 23 where considerable force is exerted by a skier in the course of any use of the new binder`10.

Foot plate 1S is generally flat and provided rwithparallel outer edges 29 and 30 to respectively engage and be retained by the inner edges 14 and 15 of the guides 12 and 13. Outer edges 29 and 30 have downwardly and outwardly inclined faces 31 and 32 respectively which engage the faces 16 and 17 in the course of any relative sliding movement between foot plate 1S and the fixed guides 12 and 13. The front portion of foot plate 18 is provided with a central axially extending vertical slot 33 the front of which slot in all adjusted positions of foot plate -18 extends forwardly of front 28 of toe piece 23. An upstanding member 34 at the front of foot plate `18 makes it possible to take hold thereof readily in the event that a longitudinal adjustment of foot plate 18 is prises three parallel at lands 35 which slide on the top surface of ski 11 whenever foot plate 18 is moved. A carriage bolt 36 has its headin a recess 37 countersunk ingthe bottom surface of ski |11, the bolt 36 extending upwardly through a hole 38 in Yski 11 with the upper threaded'end ofv bolt 36 also extending through slot 33 afsuiicient kdistance so that such threaded end can be engaged by -a thumb nut 39. Hence, the longitudinal position of foot plate 18 is xed whenever Ithumb nut 39 is tightened on bolt 36. Moreover, foot plate 1S is rigidly held laterally( by the respective guides 12 and 13 substantially along the entire length thereof and is rigidly held against any upward movement by the faces I14 and l of those guides.

` In the making of foot plate 18, a peripheral ange 40 is provided around the rear thereof, said flange 40 being U-shaped in plan with the mouthof the U facing forward and the underside of the flange 40 clearing the adjoining top surfaces of the guides 12 and 13. Holes 41 extend through flange 40 at spaced intervals around the length thereof, with a counterbore recess 42 extending around Athe Vbottoms of such openings on the underside of ange 40. Moreover, the top plane 43 of foot plate 18 rises gently in an axial direction from the front of the U-shaped ange 40 to the rear thereof conforming to the general leaning forward position of a skier utilizing such a binder. I A resilient heel grip 44 is provided of a material like rubber and serves in the manner of the counter of a shoe to grip the heel of a skier. Preferably heel grip 44 is provided with a bead edge around the periphery thereof and the lower edge of grip 44 from the side corners and extending 'around the back thereof is clamped between flange 40 and a U-shaped heel clamp strip 46. Rivets 47 extend through the strip 46, the holes 44 and the ange 40 to bind the lower edge of heelV grip 44 in place on foot plate 18. The expanded lower ends of the rivets 47 are in the counterbore recesses 42 so as not to project below the underside of flange 40. Further, it will be noted that to each side'of the middle of the top edge of heel grip 44, there are internal protuberances 48 to lit into the hollow of a skiers heel immediately adjacent his ankle on each side of the heel tendon. It will thus be Seen .that if a skier |wishes to adjust the member 44 relative to toe piece 23 he can readily and easily loosen thumb nut 39 and slide foot plate 18 to the position he desires whereupon he will tighten thumb nut 39 and new binder 10 will be ready for use in its adjusted position. At the same time, if while skiing or otherwise the skier wishes to remove his foot from binder 10 he can do so simply by abruptly pulling his foot out of the binder.

Other embodiments of this invention may be made and various modifications in the illustrated embodiment may ybe constructed without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

y1. In a binder for a water ski or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, a pair of longitudinally extending guides adapted to be fastened to a water ski or the 'like a predetermined distance apart with the inner edges thereof parallel,.said inner edges having upwardly and inwardly inclined faces formin-g ways, a foot plate having parallel outer edges slidable along said ways, said outer edges having downwardly and outwardly inclined faces in engagement with said faces of said inner edges of said guides respectively, a resilient toe piece having vspaanse i. e

a resilient open-fronted heelgrip counter having its lower edge extending outwardly and clamped to said flange, said flangev being above said faces, said heel grip having molded protuberances adapted to fit in the hollows of a heel adjacent the ankle, a lon-gitudinally extending slot in said foot plate adjacent the front of said toe piece and projecting forwardly thereof, said slot being adapted to cooperate with a thumb n utand bolt assembly extendable through saidslot and said water ski or the like for proper and rapid adjustment of thedistance between said toe piece and heel grip counter, and a projecting member on the front of said foot plate to enable it to Ybe grasped.

2. In a binder for a water ski or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, a pair of longitudinally extending guides adapted to be fastenedto a water ski or the like a predetermined distance apart with the inner edges thereof parallel `and projecting, a foot plate having parallel outer edges in enga-gement with and laterally retained by said inner edges, a resilient toe piece having its sides clamped to the fore-portions of said guides respectively and arching between said guides above said foot plate, toe clamp strips overlying said sides and fastened to said guides, a resilientopen-fronted heel-grip counter having its lower edge extending outwardly and clamped to a flange on the rear of said foot plate, and a longitudinally extending slot in said foot plate ladjacent the front of said toe piece and projecting forwardly thereof, said slot being adapted to cooperate with a fastener extendable through said slot and said water ski or the like for proper and rapid adjustment of the distance between said toe piece and heel grip counter.

3. In a binder for a water ski or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, a pair of longitudinally extending guides having parallel innerY edges, a foot plate having parallel outer edges to be engaged and retained .by said inner edges of said guides, a resilient toe piece having its sides at the lower edges thereof clamped to the front portions of saidguides respectively and arching between said guides above said foot plate, means for fastening said guides in proper position on said ski or the like, a resilient heel grip having a lower rear peripheral edge extending outwardly and clamped to the rear of said foot plate a longitudinallyextending slot in saidfoot plate adjacent the front thereof, and a bolt fastener extending through said slot 'and through an opening in said ski, said bolt fastener being in front of the front of said toe piece, whereby the distance between said toe piece and heel grip may be rigidly adjusted.

4. In a binder for a water ski or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, a pair of longitudinally extending spaced parallel guides adapted to be fastened to said ski or the like along substantially the entire length of said guides, a toe piece of exible material xedly connected to the front portion of said guides respectively and arching across the space between them, Va rigid foot plate in lateral and upward retained engagement with said guides for longitudinal slidablemovement its sides clamped to the foreportions of said guides respectively in the form of an arch between said guides above said foot plate, toe clamp strips overlying said sides and fastened to said guides, said toe clamp strips and guides having registering sets of openings for fasteners thereof respectively to said water ski or the like, one of vsaid sets of openings adjacent the rear end of said toe piece being adapted to receive a strength fastener, said `foot plate having a flange around the rear portion thereof, A

only in the space between them, a heel counter grip of flexible material lixedly connected to the rear portion of said foot plate, said foot plate extending beneath and hav- -ing its front projecting beyond the front of said toe piece, and means adapted to fasten said front of said foot plate in selected longitudinal adjustment position to said ski or the like to provide a xed distance between said toe piece and heel counter.

5. In a binder vfor a water ski or the like, apparatus comprising, incombination, a pair of longitudinally extending spaced parallel guides adapted to be fastened to said ski or Ythe like, a flexible toe piece fixedly connected to the front portions of said guides respectively and arch- 'ing across the space between them, a foot plate in engagement with said guides and slidable longitudinally in the space between them, retainer portions in said guides to maintain said foot plate substantially in the plane of said guides, a flexible heel grip iixedly connected to the rear portion of said foot plate, said foot plate extending beneath said toe piece and having a longitudinal slot in its front projecting beyond the front of said toe piece, and bolt fastening means extendable through said slot and adapted to fasten said front of said foot plate to said ski or the like.

6. In a binder for a Water ski or the like, apparatus comprising, in combination, rigid guiding means adapted to be fastened to said ski or the like along substantially the entire length of said guiding means and having longitudinally extending parallel laterally spaced guideways, rigid guided means engaging said spaced guideways for retention against lateral and upward movement and for longitudinal slidable adjustment movement only relative to said guiding means, a heel counter fixed to one of said means adjacent one end thereof, a vamp member fixed to the other of said means adjacent the other end of the other of said means, said respective means extending alongside said heel counter and said vamp member with a major portion of the respective lengths of said means in side-by-side relation, and means for holding said respective means in selected longitudinally adjusted relation one to the other to provide a Xed distance between said heel counter and vamp member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,540,576 Goodhue et al Feb. 6, 1951 2,758,846 Swensen Aug. 14, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 413,879 Italy June 7, 1946 

